Let Me Go
by iceprincessforever
Summary: After a horrible fight, Eleanor awakens to find Jasper gone - throwing the young royal into a tailspin. But why are Marcus and Dominique also missing? Where did Jasper go? Why did he leave...is Eleanor to blame or is something more at play. *COMPLETE*
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: **Consider this story more or so my version of an imagined Season 3…or maybe even 4.

**Musical Inspirations:** "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down; Avril Lavigne's "Let Me Go;" Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want;" and Kelly Sweet's "In The Air Tonight."

**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Royals. I own nothing…well, except for the tale I shall be spinning.

…

Princess Eleanor awoke with a groan. Her head spun and she wasn't even sure where she was at first. She struggled to sit upright. The events of last night were slowly coming back to her but most of it still remained a haze. Despite herself, her voice alarmed her – as if it were almost a reflex – by calling out for her pain-in-the-butt bodyguard.

Eleanor cringed at her needy tone and collapsed back into her bed with a huff. She grabbed the pillow that lay under her head and buried her reddening face with it. It wasn't until the fabric was pressed up against her face that she, as if in afterthought, recalled the sound – the crinkle of paper – the moment she had grabbed her pillow. Eleanor pulled the pillow off and tossed it aside, confused. She rolled over on to her side, and let her eyes search – scanning her unmade bed… and sure enough she saw it lying there.

A piece of paper; hurriedly and un-neatly folded, but yet had been carefully placed upon her pillow. Something in the pit of her stomach gnawed at her... warning her.

Eleanor suddenly bolted upright. Her fingers trembled and hesitated to pick it up, but once she did, she slowly opened it – smoothing it out to read.

There was only one word written on it. She wasn't sure if what she held in her hands constituted it as a letter, but she knew that that was what it was. A letter.

A farewell letter.

Eleanor swallowed hard. She read. She re-read. She read it again. And yet, it didn't matter how many times she read it – the word seemed foreign. Her brain just couldn't grasp it. Her mind wouldn't and couldn't make sense of it. It was terrifyingly magical in a way – magical, in the sense that it was enough to sober her up completely… but terrifying; so terribly terrifying – that it was by far the worst thing that had ever happened to her in her entire life. She fought the urge to pinch herself, because she wanted this to so badly be a dream. A terrible, horrible, dream.

She tried to convince herself of that, but the memory of something that had transpired last night bubbled to the surface of her mind and broke through her haze.

What happened next was like an awful out of body experience. She got out of bed – paper still in hand – and ran out of her room; her eyes searching.

The guard that stood outside her bedroom was new. She had never seen him before.

The sight of her must have been quite alarming, because despite all of his obvious training the perturbed expression on his face was unmistakeable. "Your highness. Are you alright?" he asked.

Eleanor wasn't having it. "Where is Jasper?"

The guard in front of her stalled, which only caused her to become even more unhinged. She launched at him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and yelled frantically – repeating her earlier question. "Where the bloody hell is Jasper!"

The guard in question was struggling. He obviously never learned or was trained in how to handle a situation like this. He only stood there. Limply. Like a rag doll. Open-mouthed and gaping. Eleanor shook him hard one last time, repeating herself yet again – before giving up entirely. She shoved him hard against the wall and took off.

There was only one person that could help her. There was only one person who could give her the answers she needed.

…

King Simon sat on his throne and rubbed at his temples, eyes closed. It had been a long night. Scratch that, it had been a long _two years_. Between: 1) losing a son; 2) finding out that his wife had been cheating on him; 3) being fake-stabbed by Ted Pryce only to soon after succumb willingly to a medically induced coma; 4) having his death faked by The Company; 5) fake haunt Cyrus via hologram, 6) return from the supposed dead only to name Cyrus's boytoy as his assassin much to a blindsided Cyrus's rage; 7) rescind his word to abolish the monarchy against his better judgment for Liam's sake; 8) refuse taking a paternity test, because truly that garbage was ridiculous - Liam and Eleanor were his no matter what some stupid test said; 9) taking Dominique in as his ward and helping her debut back into society; only to 10) wind up shot (during an assassination attempt by persons unknown) - to 11) waking up from a _real_ 6 month long coma – all of which upon reflecting back on had left him craving the peace of that ever mentioned coma.

It was sad really. Such a miserable life. How did he get here?

Simon chuckled despite himself and then sighed, eyes still closed and lost in thought. He knew exactly how he had gotten here. He himself was to blame. He should have been more proactive.

The commotion that suddenly broke out outside of the throne room alerted him to his children's new displeasures. Simon sighed yet again, knowing that he would have to face them and lie.

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_Flashback: 12 Hours Earlier…  
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"_No!" Dominique cried, putting her foot down. "Absolutely not!"_

"_The King is right," Ted Pryce agreed, causing Dominique's eyes to widen with alarm. She turned to Marcus Jeffries and Jasper Frost for help. "This is insane," she beckoned, hoping that either man would jump in and join her. _

"_I stand by his Majesty's decision," Mr. Jeffries consented, taking a load off of Simon's shoulders._

_Dominique frowned but redirected her gaze to Mr. Frost instead. "Jasper?" _

_Simon made a quiet noise despite himself. It bothered him how close the two of them were. He knew there was nothing romantic about their interactions, but if truth be told – he didn't like Jasper. _

_It was one thing to find out about his wife and her once upon a time one-night stand, but it was another kind of horror altogether to witness the way his daughter also stared at the fiend. It made him sick and he would have banished Jasper ages ago if it weren't for Dominique; poor, naïve, and ever hopeful Dominique – whom always seemed to see the best in people, despite their faults. The world had not been kind to her at all, and yet she still managed to navigate it with unfading optimism. _

_It was that optimism of hers that had drawn him to her. She was like a bright light in his dark world – a light so bright that like moths to a flame the monsters in his castle had been drawn to her too and had tried to snuff her out. She had been to hell and back because of him and his need to keep her near. And consequently, he had unknowingly helped orchestrate events that had almost resulted in the death of her – a fate in which Jasper, Marcus and his son Liam had saved her from. _

"_Dom," Jasper reasoned, "We're going with you. That's that."_

_Dominique shook her head, eyes filled with tears. "You have a life here," she reminded, before addressing both Marcus and Jasper, "you both do!"_

_Simon carefully approached her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "relax. You know stress isn't good for the b-" he paused; swallowing his words. Next to him Dominique had gone rigid. _

_"It's just not good," he finished quietly._

"_There are eyes everywhere," Ted noted; reminding them. "You're not safe here. Especially when…" He let the unsaid word hang in the air._

_Dominique burst into tears. _

_Marcus quickly pulled her into a hug, "everything will be okay," he promised._

_She nodded against his chest, her words coming out muffled, "I know. I know." She pulled away. "I know it will. I'll be fine. But there is no need for you," she turned to look at Jasper, "or you," she stressed, before speaking to everyone, "needs to come with me."_

"_You will be safer with them," Simon asserted. _

"_I'll be fine on my own," Dominique insisted._

"_But this isn't just about you anymore," Ted reminded. _

"_Just say it!" Dominique snapped, finally having enough; clearly at her wits end._

"_Don't!" Jasper warned._

"_Baby," Dominique ignored. "It's a baby!"_

_Marcus was in front of her holding on to her and shaking his head as if that somehow took back her words._

_Jasper and Ted exchanged a quiet look, before Ted left the room mumbling something about erasing the footage into his earpiece._

_Simon approached Dominique causing Marcus to step out of the way. Simon grabbed her firmly. "She will kill it."_

"_Baby," Dominique repeated in tears again, helplessly. _

_Simon held back his own, "I know. I know dear. But we can't. Not in here. Not-"_

"_-anywhere," Dominique interrupted, face wet with tears, eyes filled with agony._

"_Dominique…" Simon reasoned. _

"_Because when it comes down to it if the world doesn't know. Then my baby will never know." Dominique cried bitterly, "…and he will never know."_

_Simon hugged her tightly._

"_My baby will never know his father."_

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_End of Flashback:  
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"Father."

Simon exhaled, his eyes still closed – her words still echoing; haunting him.

"Father!"

Simon swallowed hard. He just prayed that-

"Father!" Liam shook him this time, causing Simon to return to himself completely.

Simon looked up at him uncomfortably. He hadn't even heard him come in.

Liam eyed him with concern. "Father, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Simon brushed off. "Must have dozed off. What is it?"

Liam didn't seem to buy what he was selling, but conceded, "Have you seen Marcus?"

Simon exhaled. It was game time. He rolled his shoulders as he stood, "haven't you heard?"

Liam narrowed his eyes, "what?"

Simon tried for nonchalant, "he quit."

His son went rigid, "what?!"

…

The elevator chimed causing Ophelia to frown. She spun around expecting Liam but instead found a haggard and dishevelled Eleanor.

Ophelia blinked with surprise; the look of absolute horror and concern apparent on her face.

"Where is your father?" Eleanor questioned; her tone hysterical as she stepped into the Pryce's quarters.

Ophelia struggled to keep calm. Eleanor's panic was contagious. "He's-"

"-Your Highness," Ted Pryce greeted, his voice stronger than usual. "What can I do-"

Eleanor was instantly in front of him. "Where's Jasper?!"

Ophelia inhaled loudly. She eyed Eleanor carefully; watching the young monarch coming completely undone in front of her. All she wanted to do was hug her and help her, but her father merely stood there unfazed. Ted Pryce confidently smiled as if everything about Eleanor's breakdown was purely trivial. "Mr. Frost has been reassigned."

Ophelia flinched and unconsciously held her breath. Beside her, Eleanor was shaking and struggling to keep her composure. "Where?" Eleanor asked.

"I'm sorry," Ted apologized evasively. "But that's classified."

"Dad," Ophelia warned, stepping in to help her friend; pleading even.

Eleanor didn't even seem to hear them, "where?" she asked again, though this time it sounded more like a demand.

"I'm sorry," Ted repeated again, "but-"

Eleanor didn't let him finish. She launched herself at him and grabbed him by the collar just as she had with the guard from earlier. "I'm the PRINCESS," she threatened. Unlike the guard from earlier, Ted Pryce was in a league of his own. Being the badass she knew him to be, he simply took both of her hands, gently prying her off, but held her hands firm. The 'father' in him had begrudgingly taken over. This action of his was rare, and it only made Eleanor lose whatever bit of composure she had left. She unleashed the full wrath of her angst and ugly cried, hard – slouching against Ted before slowly collapsing towards the ground in an emotional heap; both Ted and Ophelia bent down beside her – Ophelia wrapped both her arms around her; cradling her, while Ted tried for comforting words. "I'm so sorry Princess, but he's gone. I don't know where he is."

Eleanor couldn't even hear him. She couldn't feel Ophelia. The only thing she was aware of was the letter she still had held in her hands and the memory of last night that had pushed him to write: Goodbye.

…

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_Flashback:  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·._

"_I don't want you here. I don't need you."_

_He knew she was drunk. He knew she was high. He knew she was a lot of things when she was intoxicated. And most of the time, she didn't mean the words she hurled around when she was smashed. He knew that. But having her lash out at him like this. Hearing her say these things to him. It was the opportunity that he had needed. He had after had been planning this. Baiting her into snapping at him for weeks. Tonight seemed like the night that she had finally taken it. The trap had been set. All she had to do now was fall in to it._

"_Well then," Jasper seethed, playing his cards right, but even as he said it - the words still killed him to say - "maybe I should just leave. Forever."_

_Eleanor gritted her teeth, "maybe you should."_

_The grin he bared was dark, "don't test me." _

_Eleanor scoffed. And then she laughed. She actually laughed. It was full of condescension and bitterness that it made him flinch. "You still don't get it," she slurred, "…who could ever love a man like you?"_

_¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)_

_End of Flashback:  
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"Home sweet home," Marcus introduced, flinging the front door of the large condo (that of which he insisted on first thoroughly searching and combing through) open for his friends to enter.

Dominique stepped into the foyer timidly and slowly drank in her surroundings. "It's nice isn't it?"

Marcus beamed next to her, but Jasper seemed lost to the both of them. Marcus cleared his throat loudly, which managed to finally garner Jasper's attention.

He came back to himself somewhat and half-heartedly nodded, "yeah. Nice."

Dominique and Marcus exchanged telling looks. "Could you give us a minute," Dominique asked Marcus quietly.

Marcus nodded and grabbed her suitcase, "I'll put this in your room."

Dominique nodded curtly at him and smiled warmly as she watched him leave before turning her full attention to Jasper, "talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about," Jasper mumbled.

"Mr. Pryce said _before_ all of this - you had come to him with your resignation," Dominique recalled, "why? Why would you do that?"

"You wouldn't understand," Jasper avoided.

"Eleanor?" Dominique guessed causing Jasper to wince.

"It's over," he stated, his tone laced with finality.

Dominique sighed loudly, "what happened?" she asked gently.

"Nothing."

"Jasper…"

"I said nothing happened," he snapped, causing Dominique to cringe. Jasper sighed, frowning. He closed his eyes to regain his composure. "Sorry."

Dominique waved it off, "no worries."

Jasper buried his head in his hands, "I didn't mean to-"

"I know," she silenced. "It's okay." And she did. She knew him all to well. The two of them had grown quite close during her stay at the palace. In a way, she had become like the sister he had never had.

Jasper shook his head, "no its not. It never will be. It's all so complicated."

His friend approached him and put a steady hand on his shoulder, comfortingly.

"You have no idea what it feels like," he broke, "to have someone accept you – to turn a stranger into someone that matters and then turn them back into nothing. Like they never mattered. Discard them…"

Dominique fought back tears, "Jasper…"

Jasper took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Like I said," he brushed off, "it's over."

…

***** PLEASE REVIEW *****


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: **Feedback is much appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: You know what's mine – and what's not.

…

King Simon paused; the sound of an argument drew him to a halt. He frowned and followed the source... and with each step he took - the words grew more heated as he approached.

"Six months on the run together and you've suddenly taken to being her champion," Helena droned with a roll of her eyes.

Simon couldn't help but cringe as he spied. His son seemed to share in his feelings, for Liam quickly turned on her; murder whispering its way across his handsome face. "Maybe if she hadn't been wrongfully framed I wouldn't have had to be her champion."

The accusation that dripped from his words didn't go unnoticed.

"Careful," Helena warned; nearly balking, "one might think that you're accusing me of something."

"That depends," Liam scoffed, baring a violent grin, "What exactly is it that you think I'm accusing you of mother?"

The Queen of England fixed him with a long and searching rebuking stare that would have sent most running for the door. Her son however didn't even bat an eye.

Simon's chest swelled with pride but then just as quickly crashed with remorse. He knew what it had taken for Liam to get here. His son's road to eventual succession had not been an easy one thus far, but Liam had surprised him and most with diverting each storm he faced with such grace. Liam had lived up to his promise and had made him proud. It was unfair that in the end his son had had to pay such a high price in order to do so; to fulfill that promise – even if Liam himself hadn't realized it.

But no more.

Simon cleared his throat, making his presence known and stepped into the council chambers, "funny," he interrupted causing his wife to tear her gaze away from Liam and redirect it towards him instead. "I'd like to know what exactly that is myself."

Helena rolled her eyes with disgust, giving Liam the opportunity he needed to be free of her. "I'm going to check on Len," he bided before storming off.

…

Jasper froze; his heart stopped and his mind reeled – refusing to catch up. Blinking quickly as if that somehow helped to erase what he was seeing – or rather – who he was seeing – standing in front of him, he could only almost breathlessly implore, "Eleanor?"

Eleanor ran at him and threw her arms around him. At first he didn't know how to react. He just stood there. Motionless. Unable to believe that she was actually here. But Eleanor didn't relent. That simple hug of hers tightened in a way that made him instantly melt against her; making him let go of the blind anger and confusion that had fueled him into leaving her in the first place. He hesitantly let his arms encircle her before fully grasping her.

"I missed you," she drew a shaky breath. Jasper gave into her fully and squeezed her tightly, hoping to reassure her with his touch.

"Don't leave me," she sobbed, crying into his chest, "don't ever leave me again." The hurt in her voice caused his heart to tighten. He couldn't bear to see her this way. He pulled away and as he did – something felt off.

It felt wrong.

"Eleanor?" She went limp suddenly and fell against him, causing him to panic, before collapsing fully on to the ground. "Eleanor? What's wrong!"

He finally got a good look at her.

All of her.

How had he missed the blood pooling at her chest. "Eleanor!"

"I'm so sorry Jasper," she whispered, eyes fluttering – struggling to stay open.

"No," he dissuaded. "Stay with me."

Peace flooded her eyes in a way that made him sick. "Jasper I-"

"No," he interrupted. He wouldn't let her say it.

"Jasper…"

"No. Stay with me."

"Jasper."

"No!"

"Jasper!"

"No!"

"JASPER!"

He awoke with a start, sitting up in the chair that he had drifted off to sleep in. Next to him Marcus stood hunched and worried. "You okay?"

Jasper took a few calming breaths but couldn't find the words to say so, so he simply nodded; still rattled. His nerves completely shot.

"I get them too," Marcus sympathised but that only made Jasper do a double take. "The dreams," Marcus explained, "about the assassination attack last year."

"Right…" Jasper exhaled loudly, running a hand through his hair. Realization suddenly donned on him and he went rigid. "Oh my God. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay," Marcus assured. "I noticed your head just wasn't in the game this evening. You seemed distracted. I figured you'd need me."

Jasper buried his head in his hands and shook his head. He stood quickly, "that was no excuse. I'm here to help Dominique and-"

"Jasper," Marcus interrupted holding up a hand. "You need to talk to someone." Jasper frowned, which caused Marucs to rush on and, "Anyone. It doesn't have to be me. It doesn't have to be Dominique. But you need to talk to someone about what happened with you and Eleanor."

"Nothing happened," Jasper insisted, maybe a little too harshly than he had intended.

"Look I don't care if you lie yourself," Marcus reasoned which only made Jasper stare at him incredulously, "do it for how long and as long as you need. What concerns me is the toll it's taking on you."

"I'm fine," Jasper brushed off.

"It's affecting your job," Marcus noted sounding tolerant, as if he were somehow spelling out a word to him.

"I dozed off," Jasper rationalized. "I made a mistake. I'm sorry, but it won't-"

"You've been overcompensating," Marcus interrupted. "Going out of your way to keep busy. You're doing too much."

Jasper huffed, "is that a bad thing?"

Marcus eyed him square in the eye, "it is when you use it to avoid whatever it is you're going through."

"I'm not," Jasper brushed off again but this time half-heartedly, "I promise."

"Promise?" Marcus repeated, his tone a challenge. "Fine," he conceded, calling Jasper's bluff, "alright. Then promise me this."

Jasper met his gaze, level and without blinking.

"There is only so long a person go without confronting their demons," Marcus noted, "and you're going to do just fine for a while…but everyone has a breaking point Jasper."

Jasper shook his head, clearly not having it.

"Something will eventually cause you to break," Marcus warned, "and when that happens – please remember…you're not alone."

Jasper stiffened.

"Dominique and I – we're here," Marcus comforted, "we're not going anywhere. And that baby, when he or she comes is going to need 100 percent of you. All of you."

Jasper swallowed hard.

"We swore to protect it. We made an oath," Marcus reminded gently. "So please, please try to come to terms with whatever is hurting you before then. Because once that kid comes we don't have the luxury to make a mistake."

Jasper went still. He had let his words sink in. Upon processing them, he nodded. "I get it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Jasper vowed, "I promise."

…

"Come on Liam," Gemma pouted. She grumbled and pulled her phone away from her ear as it went to voicemail.

Yet again.

It didn't make any sense to her. He should have returned to her by now.

The plan to get him back had been simple: send Ophelia away, wait for Liam's heart to heal - let him get his rebounds out of his system, and then make her grand re-entry.

She had thought that Ophelia's time away would have insured her, her spot next to him. And while Ophelia had been gone they had gotten closer, but not in the way she had hoped. Sure most of that time had been interrupted, because the King had manages to get himself shot for real this time - and then Liam had bizarrely had gone missing and apparently had been taken hostage by Dominique of all people. But upon his safe return, after learning it all had been a ruse to catch King Simon's real attacker - they had somewhat reconnected and had been getting along swimmingly - and yet, some part of him just wouldn't seem to commit to her and she just didn't know why.

None of it made any sense.

He didn't make any sense.

Liam had been cross with Ophelia. The two of them had broken up yet again but on bad terms, which resulted in Ophelia fleeing and returning to New York for a second time; and yes – she could see that they were slowly patching things up again upon Ophelia's unexpected return - after Dominique had been cleared of all charges for shooting the King, but everyone around them could tell that Ophelia and he were miles away from reconciling.

Gemma sulked. She had thought the distance between the two had meant that Liam was on his way back to her, but the kicker to all this was that she was not the only one he had been putting up walls with. He was doing the same with Ophelia as well.

Why was he doing this?

Why so hot and cold?

Why?

…

_¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·._

_James Hill was dead._

_Eleanor pounded hard on the doors that kept her trapped – locked in, within the palace's safe room._

"_Give us the code."_

_The voices outside the door sent her into a panic. "Jasper!" Eleanor demanded, pounding hard on the mechanical doors. "Open the door! Let me out!"_

"_Over my dead body," Jasper bluffed. He wasn't talking to her._

"_No!" Eleanor screamed, slamming harder against the doors. Her heart was racing so fast that she found it hard to breathe. "Don't you dare!"_

_To her horror – a gun went off._

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"JASPER!" Eleanor screamed, disoriented. She found herself panting. She scrambled to get to her feet and searched. Where was he?

The room she was in was dark, but that didn't matter. She had to get to him. He was hurt.

A sudden whisper of light blinded her and she was momentarily paralyzed. Her eyes hurt and she found herself squinting through her eyelids. Looking up she found him fast approaching, reaching for her. She beat him to it and ran at him, his face lost to darkness, but his hair glinted gold and he was backlit by light. "Jasper!"

Before she could hold him, strong hands held her at arm's length but latched onto her and kept her in place. "Wake up!"

Eleanor blinked, unawares.

He shook her hard and the last bits of sleep that had plagued her disappeared.

Eleanor came back to herself with a jolt and found Liam eyeing her worriedly. She was standing in her dark bedroom; light from the hallway spilled into her room. Liam stood in front of her and the look in his eyes was her undoing. She tried to look away, but Liam grabbed her. She tried her best to restrain her tears, but failed miserably. Unable to hold them back any longer, she grabbed on to him and cried. Her brother didn't move; he only held her quietly and waited for her tears to subside so that she could talk.

She pulled away, once she had gotten somewhat of a grip on herself, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "I forgave him for Samantha. I forgave him for sleeping with mum." Who was she to judge after learning the full truth. He had been honest with her. His cover as an agent for The Company had required him to play the part of a con; conning Samantha - and compelling him to begrudgingly satisfy Helena to quell her growing curiosity over him.

Liam didn't say anything, but averted his gaze.

"After the attack on the Palace…after everything with Domino...and then The New Order...H-he-he saved me. He always saves me-" Eleanor choked on her words and began to tremble. "He took a bullet for me..."

Her brother clasped his hands over hers and held them firm. "It's going to be okay."

"Why did he save me?!" Eleanor shrieked, weeping all over again despite herself. "Why save me only to leave me!"

"Lennie…" Liam pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her, but that only made her cry harder. She was inconsolable.

"I will never forgive him for this," Eleanor cried, face crumpling against his chest. "Never."

…

"No plans?"

Ophelia looked up from the book that she was reading and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her pretty blue eyes. "Not tonight," she replied quietly.

Ted Pryce eyed her carefully. "Is something wrong?"

His daughter responded with a shake of her head, "no," she dismissed in a light voice, but he knew her all too well. Ophelia was a horrible liar – with no poker face to match. Something of which she had clearly not inherited from him. Ted Pryce had succeeded in to fooling a nation that he had conspired to murder the King. And yet his daughter on the other hand it seemed couldn't even manage to convince herself that she was fine.

"What is it," he pried gently.

"It's nothing dad," she brushed off, insisting. "Really."

Ted Pryce sighed, choosing to let it go. "I'm here," he reminded.

"I know," his daughter smiled. "Don't worry."

He couldn't help but scoff, "not a chance." His phone rang suddenly – interrupting their little game of dodge. Ophelia capitalized on the momentary distraction and quickly headed to her room, "duty awaits," she shouted over her shoulder.

Ted Pryce smiled after her and waited until she was out of earshot. He grabbed the phone in question – his burner phone, and answered. "Good afternoon. Status?"

Jasper Frost responded curtly, "all clear, sir."

Ted nodded despite the fact that Jasper couldn't see him. "I trust you've all settled in?" They would be safe in New York. His gut told him so.

"Yes, sir."

"Same time tomorrow," Ted ordered.

"Affirmative, sir. Good night."

…

"They're in New York," Cyrus reported.

"All three of them?" Helena questioned, surprised.

"Yes," Cyrus concurred, "…what exactly do you think my brother is up to?"

Helena leaned forward conspiratorially. "He's hiding something," she exclaimed, her mouth twisted into a smile. "It's big."

"I'll say," Cyrus agreed. "A week's worth of footage erased. Gone. Poof!" he noted, "but why?...What purpose could two bodyguards and a ward fulfill?"

Helena sighed, raising an eyebrow, "that's what we're going to find out."

…

***** PLEASE REVIEW *****


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: **Sorry for the wait. I needed to tweak the first two chapters to fit with the events after the finale. Feedback is much appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: You know what's mine – and what's not.

…

_¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·. 5 YEARS LATER…¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
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Liam didn't understand what was going on. He came to an abrupt halt and watched as his guards descended upon him. "What's the matter? What's wrong?!"

"My apologies, your highness," one of his guards replied curtly, "but you must follow us immediately."

Liam frowned and eyed the door at the end of the hall; the door that his men were keeping him from.

He fought the urge to sigh heavily. "Why the urgency? What is so important?"

"That's classified Sir," another guard spoke.

Liam narrowed his eyes at them.

The door at the end of the hall still sang to him, the way a siren would to unsuspecting sailors. He shot his guards a testing look before choosing to ignore them altogether and headed towards his original intended destination.

His walking off without a care sent his guards into overdrive and they instantly sprang into action.

Liam was no fool. He knew what would come next. He quickly broke out into a sprint – one that would make even the likes of Usain Bolt jealous, but lost his momentum upon being blindsided by the young man that emerged through the door he had been headed towards.

He froze in his tracks; almost crashing into him.

The smile that spread across Liam's face was like a long lost friend –one of surprise, appreciation, and filled with thanks. "Marcus!"

Marcus returned his smile sadly, which only confused Liam.

"I'm sorry Sir," he apologized.

Liam frowned, "sorry?" he questioned dumbly, "for wha-"

Marcus darted forward and stuck a syringe in to Liam's neck.

…

Dominique ran off stage to a whirlwind of applause. She practically skipped right off. Her fellow dancers hugged her as she made her way further backstage. She took everything in. Drinking it all in. It was such a rush, and the high of it all left her breathless.

Hers eyes scanned the faces that danced around her – looking only and specifically for that one special angelic face. A mane of blonde hair came hurtling at her through the crowd, and she picked the little girl up in her arms and squeezed her hard.

"You were amazing mam," her daughter – four year old Destiny gushed.

Jasper pushed through the crowd and beamed, "amazing is an understatement," he praised, finally reaching Dominique. He hugged her, "you were great."

Destiny turned to look at Jasper, "uncle Jasper…what does undrastine mean?"

Jasper and Dominique laughed. Jasper stretched his arms out to Destiny. She embraced him as he pulled her into his arms – allowing Dominique the time she needed to head off to her dressing room. "Understatement," Jasper corrected, "and it means making something sound smaller than it is."

Destiny blinked and furrowed her eyebrows in a way that made Jasper's heart lurch. The familiarity of it all knocked the wind out of him. It had been five years.

Five whole years.

And yet, in all this time he still couldn't get her out of-

"Ready?" Dominique announced, interrupting his thoughts.

Jasper looked up at her surprised, "that was fast," he noted.

Destiny began to squirm, causing Jasper to set her down. Once her feet hit the floor she began bouncing in her spot. Dominique and Jasper smiled knowingly.

Destiny was unable to contain her excitement any longer, "Disney World!"

…

"Where is he?" Gemma fretted scanning the crowd; forced to follow the throng of people now leaving the theatre.

Ophelia who stood next to her – shared in her worry; a sad commentary in and of itself considering that both girls never agreed on anything. "He was sitting next to you," she reminded bitterly, hating the fact that Gemma had managed to sandwich herself in between her and Liam on what was to be their first date in years.

"Excusez moi," she dismissed, "he practically begged me too."

"You shouldn't even be here," Ophelia sniped.

"He invited me," Gemma retorted; which was the truth. Ophelia knew that, but even as she said it – the words still stung.

The rivals soon found themselves outside of the theatre, where Gemma quickly spotted the royal guards. She made a move to approach, but paused. Her hands reached for Ophelia's shoulder and she patted her anxiously.

Ophelia eyed her with disdain and arched an eyebrow.

Gemma wasn't looking at her, but rather straight ahead, "isn't that…"

Ophelia frowned and followed her gaze. The person that stood near their car was a much welcomed surprise. Without thinking, she hurried off – leaving a frazzled Gemma to chase after her.

…

"Marcus!"

Marcus whom had just put an unconscious Liam into the back of the royal vehicle could only go numb at the sound of Ophelia's voice. He still held the door open. He turned around slowly, but was ambushed by her arms coming around him as she ran into him and pulled him into a big bear hug.

"Marcus," she greeted, pulling away – an action of which left him disappointed. "What are you doing here?!"

He drank in her appearance and grinned. It sure had been a long time. She looked good. And happy. He was glad. "A friend of mine was in the play," he replied quickly, before choosing to change the topic. "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"

Before she could respond, Gemma spoke behind her. "Dominique," she remarked in a tone he couldn't quite place. Marcus swallowed hard. He had noted Gemma earlier but had chosen to ignore her presence completely – a lot of good that had done. He narrowed his eyes at her. Of course Gemma noticed, he thought bitterly. It was impossible to get things by that one.

Ophelia blinked with surprise and arched an eyebrow questioningly.

Marcus proceeded cautiously, "yes," he answered slowly not bothering to look at Gemma. "So Ophelia. How have-"

"Curious," Gemma continued, interrupting him once again. "The two of you quit and disappear with nary a word. And just happen to be here – in New York."

Ophelia spun around and fixed Gemma with a look, "and why is that _curious_," she mocked. It was evident that she didn't like what Gemma was implying.

"I just find it fascinating," she stated coolly.

Marcus frowned. She was like a dog with a bone. He had to be careful.

Ophelia rolled her eyes and turned to face Marcus, but out of the corner of her eye caught sight of Liam's sleeping form tucked away inside the car, and gasped.

She went rigid and looked to Marcus in alarm, "what happened to him?!"

Gemma who had been standing at least a foot away bolted forward.

"There was a slight security scare earlier," Marcus explained. "The extraction procedure had to be put in place."

"Is he alright?" Ophelia cried; she scrambled into the car to check on him, beating Gemma to the punch.

Gemma could only huff and watch on helplessly. Her annoyance only made her turn on Marcus, "I thought you no longer work for the palace?!"

"You can take a Royal guard out of the field," Marcus's smile was sad, "but duty will forever and always be in his blood."

…

Beck grinned and followed Eleanor through the airport, "this disguise of yours is lame."

Eleanor whom was currently clutching a rosary and dressed as a nun while donning stylish shades flashed him a blazing grin. "Hey," she laughed and bumped him playfully. "It worked, no?"

He nodded, conceding.

She smiled brightly and eyed her phone.

"Still no reply from Liam?" he asked as he followed her through the busy crowd.

"No," she responded worriedly, "which is weird, because he knew we were arriving today."

"Maybe he's still at that play that Fee wanted to go to," Beck suggested.

Eleanor shrugged. "Maybe…" she didn't sound convinced.

"Hey," Beck assured, "you'll hear from him soon. In the meantime," he pulled her over to the waiting area and motioned to her to sit, "rest. I'll scour for something for us to eat while we wait on his call."

Eleanor nodded appreciatively at him and watched him go.

Sighing loudly once he was gone, she began to absently play with her phone; occasionally glancing up to scrutinize rowdy passengers. She smiled and watched the passerbyers jet passed her lazily before growing tired and chose to stretch. She was exhausted, jetlagged and desperately craved sleep.

She was about to return to her phone – when she saw _him_.

He was standing alone and checking his phone, oblivious to the world around him.

Eleanor shot up out of her seat like a rocket and stood frozen in place – paralyzed; positive that either her eyes were playing a sick cruel game with her or that she must be dreaming.

She ran a hand through her hair and stared at him dumbly; her heart and mind were racing refusing to catch up. She was afraid to move. She so badly wanted this to be real.

Eleanor let out a shaky breath and approached him slowly. Every step she took seemed like a lifetime had come and gone. Her heart was screaming to his, begging him to turn around and look her way.

Unable to bear the distance anymore, she made a move to run to him – but to her shock – a little girl beat her to it. Eleanor stopped dead in her tracks and watched as the little girl hugged his legs.

To her horror, she watched as Jasper beamed down at her and picked her up.

Like a mute, helpless spectator – she could only watch as Dominique joined him. Jasper laughed and handed the little girl over to Dominique and the two of them chatted away happily as they walked off.

Eleanor fought the urge to sink to the floor. She felt like she had just run into a brick wall. _What the hell had just happened?!_

"Here you are?" Beck greeted, managing to happen upon her, but she could barely hear him.

"Len? What's wrong?!"

She hadn't realized that she was shaking. She could feel something awful brewing inside her, building, just itching to bubble to the surface and erupt into something she couldn't quite comprehend. Her feet buckled, and she found herself leaning against Beck for support. She was panting for breath, she felt like she couldn't breathe, and she was acutely aware of her heartbeat thundering in her ears.

"Len!" Beck's voice was filled with panic.

Standing there now, she realized that she had finally reached her breaking point. She had been trying so hard to hold it all in – for five years that was entirely what she had been doing. Her feet gave way; she let the horrible sobs that she had been holding back escape her while she sunk slowly to the floor in a heap. She didn't care that people were staring.

Beck petted the top of Eleanor's head carefully. He had managed to scoop her somewhat into his arms. People stared rudely as they passed – probably thinking the worst considering that Eleanor was still dressed as a nun. His shirt was soaked with her tears and he could barely make sense of her predicament. She had managed to choke out the awful events, but much of what had transpired still didn't make much sense to him.

_Jasper had moved on…with Dominique? And they had a kid?_

He knew he was one to judge, but watching Eleanor breakdown like this made him feel helpless and useless. He wanted to find and grab Jasper and drag him here – to her. She deserved answers. How could someone who had taken a bullet for his so called love, just up leave her in the lurch like this? It didn't make any sense to him, and he was sure there had to be more to all this than anybody was saying, telling or knew.

…

"This place is beautiful," Ophelia stated in awe as she drank in her surroundings. Marcus had graciously offered that they spend the night at his place…she just wished that the offer hadn't also been extended to Gemma.

"I'm going to bed," Gemma yawned phonily, "where's Liam's room?"

Ophelia scoffed at Gemma's shameless brashness.

"_Your_ room," Marcus stated pointedly, "are through those doors."

Gemma merely rolled her eyes and strutted off.

Ophelia couldn't help but laugh.

Marcus joined in her amusement, but then sobered, "do you think he'll be mad?"

Ophelia shrugged; "about you sticking a needle in his neck?" she played. "Nahhh. Just like old times, right?"

Marcus smiled at that.

"Though," she prepared, "he might be madder at you for – well, you know – abandoning him and all."

Marcus sighed heavily, "It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like?" she asked point blank.

Marcus rubbed his temples, "it's a long story."

Ophelia sat down on one of the comfy sofas and patted the seat next to her, "I like long stories."

…

***** PLEASE REVIEW *****


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: **Feedback is much appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: You know what's mine – and what's not.

…

It hurt to move.

Everything hurt.

Every part of him ached.

Liam stirred slowly – painfully so – and pulled the covers around him tighter. He buried his face in his pillow, praying for sleep to claim him once more.

The faint delicate smell of granny smith apples and cherry blossoms that paralyzed his senses made his eyes shoot open and sent him bolting upright. The memory of last night came flying back to him – him seated there in that theatre; surrounded by thousands and all that he could see was…

Liam jumped out of bed and looked around wildly. His head spun dangerously, but even as the world danced around him he could tell that the room he had awoken in wasn't his.

He felt woozy and nauseous and the urge to vomit made him sit back down on the soft bed and take a deep breath. He buried his head in his hands, remembering Marcus – Marcus of whom he hadn't seen in years. Marcus - who at the sight of him had made him lower his defences. The one and same Marcus had made him forget why he had run backstage. Marcus his best friend, Marcus who he trusted –the same Marcus who had stuck a syringe in his neck and had…well, he wasn't even sure _why_ Marcus had done what he had done.

Liam stood up slowly, having finally caught his bearings and proceeded with caution to the bedroom door. He opened it slowly and peered into the empty hallway. His body still ached terribly, and the simple act of walking alone was agonizing, but he needed answers: where was he? How had he gotten here? Marcus had drugged him, but why? And most importantly, why had his friend left him all alone without as so much as a goodbye.

…

"How is she?"

Ophelia begrudgingly tore her gaze away from Eleanor's sleeping form and towards Beck whom of which had just stuck his head in through the open bedroom door, to inquiry about Eleanor.

Ophelia frowned and shrugged – unable to muster up any sort of a response. Truth be told she wasn't sure how Eleanor was or what state she would be in when she woke up.

Last night had been terrifying. Ashok and Beck had brought Eleanor to Marcus's house in the midst of what Ophelia could only describe as a mental breakdown. The young Princess was beyond consolable. Her dire state had left Marcus with no other choice but to sedate her – an action of which everyone had voted on carefully, considering that Eleanor had worked so hard during the past few years and had managed to make it to four years of being sober. Ophelia could only helplessly pray and hope that the sedation didn't set her back any for having any sort of drug in her system was dangerous and she was terrified that her friend would return to and fall back into her old habits. Especially considering her _reason_ for getting sober had in turn betrayed her.

As much as Ophelia had hated Jasper for leaving – the result of his departure from The Palace, had brought about a stark change in Eleanor.

It hadn't been an immediate change – in fact Eleanor had spun out so disgustingly hard during the first few months after Jasper had left that Liam had feared that he would soon be burying another sibling. The terror of watching her spiral and die in front of him had led to Liam threating to cut ties, which allowed Eleanor to finally see the light – just not in the way that anyone would have thought.

She pulled her act together, got help, and made a pact to herself: she would never touch any of that poison again, as long as karma promised to favor her in the end. She held on to hope for the years that followed that Jasper would return to her; that her being sober would somehow bring him back. In many ways Jasper, or rather the _memory_ of him had become the Princesses new favorite drug of choice and Ophelia wasn't sure if that was any healthier for her. The fallout of it all was yet to be seen, because Ophelia knew the truth – Eleanor's sobriety came with a price.

Ophelia sighed loudly as Beck came into the room and closed the door behind him. If the sedative didn't do Eleanor in, then Jasper's moving on very might well. But in the meantime, she was going to hope for the best. All she could do was sit and wait.

…

Marcus scooped the last of the scrambled eggs into a bowl, before placing the entirety of it on the dining table.

He glanced at the clock that hung in the kitchen and estimated that everyone would or should be slowly getting up by now.

Always one to be an early riser, he had taken to the task of making breakfast – although, it wasn't like he was able to get much sleep last night considering nor would he ever refer to cooking as a _task_. In fact, cooking brought him solace. In fact, at night – he was a chef for a hip nocturnal restaurant in the heart of the city – but by day, he still did what he usually did and acted as a Bodyguard for Destiny and Prue.

Jasper on the other hand, had taken to photography – something of which he had always been fond of and had decided on turning it into a day job, so by default he took the shift of protecting Dominique and Destiny at night.

Granting, it wasn't like Dominique needed much protecting. The girl was scrappy and resilient, past history had taught them both this, and she was more than capable of protecting her daughter.

But Destiny wasn't a normal, ordinary, four year old. Destiny was an heir to the English throne – an heir that the world knew nothing about; an heir that Jasper and Marcus had vowed that the world would never ever find out about – even if it cost Marcus his life to keep her safe, he would do it. He had to. Not because he was bound by duty to England to do so, but because he loved that little girl more than his own life.

He just hoped he hadn't compromised her safety.

Marcus frowned and got to work at the kitchen sink. He scrubbed at a pot so hard that his knuckles turned the colour of a violent bruise.

Marcus took a deep breath and abandoned the task altogether. He left the kitchen and headed for the study; quickly scanning each room as he did - making sure that he had successfully managed to hide each and every photograph of Jasper, Destiny and Dominique from sight. Once he had reached the study - he pulled out the registered phone – which he and Jasper usually used to contact Ted Pryce regularly with – to report daily updates from out of its hiding place.

To his dismay, Ted still wasn't answering his calls; an action of which was uncharacteristic of his senior and only made Marcus cower with dread. Marcus was aware of how royally he had screwed up. He should have known better. The smart thing would have been to let Liam, Gemma, and Ophelia proceed along their merry way, any bit the wiser, but he hadn't done that. No, instead he had brought them all _here_ – to the one place, that none of them should have ever known existed - especially of all Liam.

Jasper and Dominique had trusted him - so much so, that the two of them had both eventually confessed _all_ of their deep, dark secrets: Dominique's was unsurprising. He had already learned from Liam all about The Henstridge and The Stewart's family feud. The creation of Domino and the revenge plan that had been at play. Jasper's history however had been mind-blowing: the first... Marcus promised he would never speak of it or think about it. As a result, Marcus had decided to lock said secret away in the dark recesses of his mind for safe keeping. Jasper's secret was life altering and world changing. He would never ever reveal it. The second: Jaser was an agent; assassin if you will - working for a shadowed organization referred in hushed tones as The Company. His backstory had been fabricated. Everthing everyone ever knew about him had been a lie. He had been recruited as a pre-teen. The only other people who knew of his real identity had been Ted Pryce (who was also a Company agent), King Simon, Prince Liam, and Princess Eleanor. And now Marcus and Dominique knew as well. He had trusted them with a secret so deep - and now Marcus felt like he had let him down. He swore allegiance to his country and its King and at the first sighting of _her_, he threw all that away just because he was weak.

Ophelia had always been his weakness. Not being able to see her in the flesh, in front of him every day had been awful. But he had known where his priorities had lied, or at least he had _thought_ he did.

Marcus swallowed hard and tried calling Ted again. He wasn't sure what to make of Ted not answering his calls. Did his superior already know about his faux-pas? Was Mr. Pryce currently finding a way to fix his mistake before anyone knew otherwise? Or had something happened? Something bad… Should he call Jasper?

No. Marcus put the phone away hastily and hurried out of the study and headed back to the kitchen. He couldn't call Jasper. If he did, then his friend would return, and if he did then that would mean Dominique and Destiny would return with him, and they couldn't have that. They couldn't risk Eleanor or Liam seeing Destiny. It was too risky.

Marcus quickly headed back to the sink to resume cleaning up the kitchen. His only solace was that Dominique and Jasper where miles away with Destiny, which gave him all the time he needed to clean up the mess he had created.

"Marcus."

Marcus jumped out of his skin. He turned and found Liam staring at him peculiarly. Marcus normally wasn't one to be caught off guard easily. Really, the fact that he had been was a rarity, and served to alert him that he needed to get his head back in the game before he screwed things up worse than he already had.

"Sorry," Liam stated quietly.

Marcus's eyes widened as he took in Liam's pale complexion. He quickly grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee, and approached him, "here," he offered, handing his friend the cup, "this should help. By the way - Ashok arrived last night with Beck and Eleanor. Everyone is here."

Liam took the cup from him hesitantly and winced, "what did you inject me with?"

Marcus cringed, "do you really want to know?"

Liam sighed and rubbed his eyes, clearly still suffering from the after effects of having been drugged. "No."

Marcus managed a cautious smile.

Liam didn't return it, "why?" he asked tiredly. "Why did you do it?"

Marcus said the only thing he could say. He said what he was trained to say, "It was my job to do so, your Majesty. There was a security threat and the extraction procedure had to be put into place."

Liam frowned, "what was the threat?"

Marcus wanted to slap himself. He deserved this. He had brought this threat home and now he had to deal with it; even if it meant costing him an old and dear friendship. "That's classified, your Majesty."

"Just stop!" Liam held up a hand, obviously fed up. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"I'm sorry your Majesty but yo-"

"Stop calling me that!" Liam snapped. "It's Liam! Call me Liam!"

Marcus faltered.

"I haven't seen you in years Marcus!" Liam beseeched. "You promised you wouldn't do this again. But you did! You just upped and left me again – you didn't even say goodbye. And now here you are! I finally see you again, after all these years, and instead of being straight with me, you dodge my questions and avoid giving me any real explanation as to why you stabbed me in the neck and drugged me!"

"I'm sorry," Marcus apologized woefully, unable to find any other words that could bring the Prince comfort and ease his confusion.

"I don't want an apology Marcus," Liam cried defeated, "I just want some answers. Could you give me that? I think I _deserve_ that."

Marcus swallowed hard and nodded, "what would you like to know?"

"Everything," Liam responded, "but let's start at the beginning…Beginning with why you left."

Marcus nodded, "alright, but…" Liam frowned as he trailed off. Marcus hurried on quickly, "you look ill. I think I may have given you too much sleeping juice." He pointed to the balcony, "I'll go let the others know that breakfast is ready, and I'll meet you out there. The fresh air will do you some good," he motioned to the untouched cup that Liam still held in his hands, "and so will that coffee. Drink it, and I promise – I'll tell you everything you need to know."

Liam nodded and relented. He headed off towards the balcony and stepped outside. The sliding door echoed as he exited through it. Marcus frowned. How was he going to get out of this? Avoiding Ophelia's questions last night had been easy considering that Beck and Ashok had arrived and had interrupted the moment, with an inconsolable Eleanor, whom of which he was also forced to sedate.

His mind reeled as he headed off to inform the others about breakfast. He just hoped that by the time he reached Liam that a believable cover story would be in place. He just needed to desperately create and spin one that sounded plausible first.

…

Dominique bounced in her spot as Jasper fumbled for his keys, which proved more difficult than not considering that he was holding a slumbering Destiny in his arms.

"Hurry," Dominique demanded, squirming in her spot.

"Why didn't you just pee before we left the airport," he smarted, having finally managed to find the correct key.

They were standing in front of the house, having returned from the airport in which they had spent the entirety of the night after their flight had been cancelled.

"You know I don't use public restrooms," Dominique sniped, just as he pushed open the front door. She scurried into the house, but then paused and doubled back.

Jasper shook his head and nodded at her – telling her to go on her way. "I got her," he sensed, shifting Destiny in his arms.

"You sure?" Dominique asked, squirming in a way that made him laugh.

"Yes," he insisted, "go before you burst. I am not cleaning up after you."

"I hear that's good luck," she joked as she ran off.

"Only if you're a bird that crapped on someone's head," Jasper muttered sarcastically as he headed towards Destiny's bedroom.

"I heard that!" Dominique yelled.

Jasper laughed.

…

Eleanor awoke with a start and sat up in bed, "did you hear that?!"

Ophelia, whom had been seated next to her, flinched.

Beck looked at her concerned, "hear what, love?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it closed. Ashok, Beck and Ophelia sat and stood gathered around her. Gemma on the other hand, stood off to the side looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

Eleanor sighed loudly and ran a hand through her hair, "never mind," she muttered. The looks on everyone's faces warned her that voicing the fact that she had heard Jasper's laughter would only make them worry more about her than they already were.

She shifted on the bed and got a good look around the room that she was in. Even the room she sat in reminded her of Jasper. Everything was of his taste – the colour, the items, and heck even the smell. The bed she was in smelt like him – that heady mix of sandalwood and musk that made her completely lose her senses when he was around.

Eleanor frowned and looked at her friends. All of whom had gone eerily silent and were staring at her cautiously like she was some sort of broken bird.

A few minutes passed, and everyone remained silent, which only unnerved her all the more. It was like they thought their words would break her somehow.

The bedroom door opened and Marcus stepped in. She was grateful for his presence; it helped to take the focus off of her for a brief moment.

"Breakfast is ready," he announced, looking around the room in a way that made her think that he thought he had walked in on something.

Eleanor quickly crawled out of bed and approached him, which in turn made everyone follow. They hovered around her wordlessly as she followed Marcus out of the room and into the hall.

She absolutely hated it when people treated her like a fragile doll. She wasn't any of those things. Eleanor ignored everyone around her sans for Marcus. She was starving and breakfast smelled divine.

…

After freshening up Dominique emerged from the bathroom. The smell of Marcus's cooking wafted over to her and filled her hungrily. She smiled. She really didn't know how he did it sometimes. Marcus was always on top of things, but how had he known that they had decided to reschedule their trip. Weather in Florida was horrible, and Destiny had decided on rescheduling the outing for a day when Marcus could also join them. It had been such a pity that Marcus had had to work this evening, but in the end it seemed that things had worked out for the best.

Dominique headed for the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. She couldn't spot Marcus anywhere, but a flash of blonde hair caught her eye through the doors leading to the balcony. Dominique smiled. Maybe he was outside with Jasper. She grabbed a croissant off the table and headed to the sliding door and pulled it open. The door thudded behind her as she stepped out.

…

"Wow," Ophelia stated in awe, "everything smells so good."

Everyone nodded as they headed into the kitchen; full of praises and appreciated Marcus's culinary skills.

"You really shouldn't have gone through the trouble," Ashok insisted, even though he was in the process of heaping a sizable helping of scrambled eggs on to his plate. Next to him Gemma rolled her eyes, while Beck laughed.

Eleanor stood lifelessly next to Ophelia lost in her thoughts. The phone rang which made her come back to herself with a start.

Marcus motioned to the dining table, "help yourselves," he grinned, heading to the phone in the dining room. To his utter astonishment and complete surprise Jasper, who of which had materialized out of nowhere, from God knows where – beat him to it.

Marcus froze in his tracks – as did everyone else behind him.

Jasper had his back to everyone and had picked up the receiver.

Marcus finally found his voice, though it sounded and felt more like an out of body experience, "Jasper?"

Jasper spun around having just put the phone to his ear, but quickly dropped it. He looked like the rug had just been pulled out from under him; as if he had just been slapped unexpectedly, hard across the face.

…

Eleanor could feel herself go rigid at the sight of him. She could barely process the fact that he was standing in front of her – when to her shock Beck ran at him.

Whatever had plagued Jasper immediately left him, for The Bodyguard in him quickly sprang into action and blocked Beck's attack and then proceeded to knock him squarely on his ass.

Beck winced and cursed in pain on the floor, which made Ashok run to his side to help him up.

The little girl that Eleanor had spotted at the airport came running into the room. She looked at everyone confused, but quickly hurried over to Jasper.

Eleanor swallowed hard and eyed them, unhappily. But what the little girl said next floored her. "Uncle Jasper," she exclaimed, "what's going on?"

Eleanor's jaw dropped despite herself. Uncle Jasper?! The unbelievable relief that filled her was bliss.

Marcus however, looked the opposite of how she felt. "I can explain," he began, almost sounding like he was begging – though it didn't look like Jasper could even hear him. The amount of emotions that flited across his face was overwhelming.

Marcus didn't get a chance to explain. The sliding doors that led out to the balcony opened suddenly. Dominique ran into the room, quickly followed by Liam – who by the looks of it had somehow ended up wearing coffee. His shirt was covered with it. Eleanor narrowed her eyes at them in wonder.

Dominique came to a screeching halt. She looked as dumbstruck by everything as Jasper did. Her eyes flew to Marcus, who was now looking completely beside himself. "I can explain," he insisted again, weakly.

The little girl ran to Dominique, "Mam," and lifted her hands up, signifying that she wanted to be picked up.

Eleanor went to stand next to Liam, whom of which seemed stressed with tension. "What the hell is going on!" he demanded.

Marcus took a deep breath and tried to calm him. Dominique picked the little girl up, and Jasper bent down to pick up the phone that he had dropped earlier. Eleanor watched him anxiously. He held the receiver to his ear; the person that had called earlier seemingly hadn't hung up.

What happened next was a blur. It happened so fast and unexpectedly that no one had a prayer of preventing it.

Jasper went rigid and dropped the phone, "GET DOWN!" he screamed.

The sound of glass shattering made Eleanor go numb. Liam instinctively grabbed her hand and laced it with his. She felt paralyzed. It took her a few seconds to realize that fear had made her feel so, and that someone had jumped on top of her and had pushed her to the floor.

She felt her hair being pushed away from her face.

"Are you alright?"

Eleanor looked up at Jasper, disoriented. Everything around her was chaos. A fleet of Royal Guards had descended into the room and were storming the place.

She felt Liam's hand slip out of hers. Her brother got up and was screaming, "Get off of me!" It seemed like legions were holding him back, but that didn't stop him from fighting against them. "Let me see her!" he screamed. "Let me go!"

Eleanor frowned.

"Eleanor?" Jasper hadn't left her side. He ran a hand through her hair tenderly. "Baby, are you alright?!"

She nodded wordlessly and he helped her to slowly get to her feet.

Marcus ran up to him. Eleanor had never seen any of her Guards cry, but that was what Marcus was doing.

The tension that rolled off Jasper was unmistakable. "What? What is it?!"

Eleanor flinched at the sound of the little girl wailing. She couldn't tell where she was, and apparently neither could Jasper.

"Where's Destiny!" he demanded.

"It's bad," Marcus sobbed; he grabbed Jasper's hand and pulled, forcing him to follow. Eleanor chased after them. They were headed in Liam's direction, which of whom was still fighting his Guards.

Ted Pryce emerged from the melee. "Let them through," he cautioned.

Eleanor grabbed Liam's hand, but as soon as the crowd parted her brother to her surprise broke free of her hold and charged through.

Eleanor gasped as she followed Jasper and Marcus into the thick of the situation. Destiny was crying and holding Dominique's hand. The sight of her was horrible, she lay bleeding on the floor. She was struggling to speak.

The Royal Guards had made a barrier around her, forming a circle, using themselves as human shields – something of which Dominique had clearly done for her daughter.

Liam ignoring everyone's protest scooped Dominique into his arms and rested her head in his lap. She was trying to speak, but the act to do so seemed almost painful. Liam tearfully shushed her to save her strength.

"She shouldn't see this," Jasper whispered to Marcus. He quickly approached the little girl and picked her up. Marcus followed. The two of them departed through the crowd, while the little girl wailed in protest.

Eleanor sat down next to Liam. She'd never seen her brother look so helpless. She wasn't even sure if Liam was aware that she was sitting next to him. He seemed solely occupied on Dominique, and refused to leave her side even as paramedics urged him to do so. They were in no position to argue with the future King of England, and he clearly wasn't going anywhere and refused to budge. They would have to pry Dominique away from his cold dead hands, of that Eleanor was sure.

Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows at him. She knew the two of them were close. How could they not be? After her father's shooting and Dominique had clearly been framed. Liam along with Marcus and Jasper had orchestrated events that had made it seem like Dominique had fled the country and had taken Liam as her hostage. Of course the two of them had still been in England at the time, while forces were searching elsewhere, but the fact that she had had The Next In Line To The Throne as a hostage meant that troops would approach her a thousand times over more carefully rather had she been a sitting duck in The Palace – that of which Uncle Cyrus would have loved nothing more than to feast on. Marcus and Jasper had managed to secure evidence that proved her innocent, but it had taken quite some time to do so. And the longer they had taken, had meant the more time Dominique and Liam had had to stay underground and be on the run. The two of them had bonded, and despite the dire situation, Eleanor had been glad for Liam. For Liam, at the time, had been in his own personal hell - given that he and Ophelia had broken up once light of Ophelia's romance with a stage director from New York had come to Liam's attention by Gemma of all people no less. Ophelia had left Liam behind, and had gone to pursue said romance, leaving Liam shattered in the process. But his adventure with Dominique had served as the distraction that he had so desperately needed to escape from his funk.

Consequently, when news had broken after Marcus and Jasper had quit and left – Liam had been just as upset by Dominique's leaving as he had been about Marcus's and Jasper's. She was his friend as much as Marcus and Jasper had been, and Eleanor could tell that it had hurt that the three of them had left him without as much as a goodbye.

"Your Majesty," the paramedic that was fighting to keep Dominique stable, looked at Liam grimly, "you're going to have to leave her side. We need to shift her to the ambulance."

Liam's eyes flashed with anger. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You're Majesty-"

"Let hi-him…sssttt-ay," Dominique wheezed. Eleanor started and shifted closer to her.

"But-"

"Let th-them come…pluh-uhh-ease," she continued, struggling to speak. "Th-there's some-something he needs…to know." Dominique's eyes fell on Eleanor. "Th-they b-b-both do."

…

Secrets in their line of work is deadly, which was why shortly before Destiny was born the three of them had come clean to each other and bared their souls bare.

They knew _everything_ about each other. They were all open books. They had to be, for Destiny's sake. Secrets in their line of work were lethal, and they didn't have that luxury, and yet despite knowing all of that he had gone and screwed everything up. This was exactly the kind of thing that they had been fighting for so long to prevent, and one moment of weakness on his part had brought them all down in the process. Because of him. It was all his fault. Marcus fought back tears angrily. Because of him, Dominique was fighting for her life. Because of him Destiny might lose her mother. Because of him, Destiny's life was now in danger.

"Stop that," Jasper shot down, eyeing Marcus knowingly, "you're human. To err is human."

Marcus sighed and looked at him hesitantly, "I should have known better."

"Should?" Jasper questioned, he shifted Destiny in his arms. The little girl was still blubbering. "What _should be_ is far less tempting than what _could be_." Marcus avoided his gaze. "You made a mistake."

"We're not allowed to make mistakes!" Marcus reminded, coming down on himself harshly, "mistakes in our line of work is fatal. Dominique is-"

"Dominique will be fine," Jasper interrupted, not allowing him to finish his sentence. The sense of finality in his words made Marcus drop his pity party altogether. For Destiny's sake they couldn't think like that. They wouldn't.

The sound of Jasper's radio beeping further interrupted them. Jasper grabbed it, "Frost to Pryce - over."

_"Code 741, over."_

Jasper swallowed hard and eyed Marcus nervously, before turning to Destiny. "Come on sweetness. Let's go see your momma."

…

"Eleanor clearly misunderstood," Ophelia reasoned. Everyone had gathered at the hospital and was standing in front of Dominique's hospital room. Liam and Eleanor were currently inside the room and speaking with her father.

"The bullet was clearly meant for that little girl," Beck stated heatedly. "Who would want her dead? And why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gemma stated with a roll of her eyes.

"No," Ashok muttered, "but you're going to tell us regardless I'm sure."

Gemma sighed, a show to all that she was clearly surrounded by idiots. "She's the King's bastard, obviously," Gemma droned as if the subject she was speaking of was matter-of-fact.

Ophelia flinched and turned on Gemma, "you're disgusting, you know that?!"

"Think about it dim-dim," Gemma replied contemptuously. "That girl's age perfectly coincides with those three leaving when they did. What other purpose could two reputable Bodyguards and a beloved ward fulfill."

"That beloved ward – is her _mother_," Beck clarified. "So…that makes Dominique what exactly? King Simon's mistress?!" he asked incredulously; his tone sounding scandalized.

Gemma simply shrugged in a way that said that he had gotten his answer.

"No, no way," Ashok waved off, "she called her ma'am. You all heard her."

"She's practically a baby, Ashok," Ophelia replied, "It could be baby talk."

Beck straightened abruptly and shushed everyone. He tried to motion discreetly, hoping that everyone would notice that Japer and Marcus had arrived with the little girl in tow. Luckily for him, they all did, and dropped the topic.

The door to Dominique's hospital room opened slowly. Liam exited the room with Eleanor and Ted Pryce close behind. Ophelia ran to him, "how is she? Is she stable?"

Liam looked numb, which only confused her and left her fearing for the worst. He didn't even seem to hear or notice her. He was staring ahead, lost in a daze, focused on something behind her.

Ophelia turned and realized that he was staring at the little girl.

Jasper and Marcus approached him carefully, both of which held on to each of her little hands.

"He knows," Ted Pryce spoke suddenly. His voice was so formal that it made Ophelia turn and stare at her father perplexed.

Next to him Eleanor was shaking, not in fear but…awe.

Jasper let go of the little girl's hand and together Marcus and her approached Liam.

Marcus cleared his throat, and brought the little girl forward. "Your Majesty," he ceremoniously declared; speaking formally, "presenting her Royal Highness Destiny Henstridge…"

Ophelia shot a look at Gemma. Gemma replied kindly by arching an eyebrow as if to say I told you so. To her shock, Gemma was proved wrong.

Marcus took a deep breath and looked at Liam evenly, "…your daughter."

…

***** PLEASE REVIEW *****


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note: **Feedback is much appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: You know what's mine – and what's not.

…

"I'm sorry," Liam stated solemnly.

She hadn't meant to – but Ophelia couldn't help but cringe at his words. She felt like such an idiot for not reading into all of the signs. She had known something was off with him upon her return to the Palace. She could sense that something about the way he was when he was with her had clearly changed. She had had her suspicions – assuming that he had somehow moved on from her. She had thought that the change in him had been due to _Gemma_.

But clearly she was wrong.

It all made perfect sense to her now – the depression he had been in when Marcus and Jasper had left. But it had been more than that. He had been hurt that _Dominique _had left.

Liam grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Ophelia couldn't help but smile at him sadly. There were two ways to deal with this: the high road and the low one.

She returned his gesture and sighed heavily, "we got our _someday_," she noted, trying her best to say it as brightly as she could. "It's just that by the time we got it – it was too late."

Liam's face colored with unease.

"Your heart no longer belongs to me," Ophelia continued, "…_She_ has it doesn't she?"

Liam met her gaze. She could tell that he was struggling to find the words to confirm as much; without hurting her.

Ophelia took a deep breath. "You don't have to apologize… You never have to apologize. I just want you to be happy."

Liam frowned.

Ophelia looked at him pointedly, searching his face cautiously. "…She does make you happy?"

Liam swallowed hard, "yes."

Ophelia smiled at him reassuringly; letting him go, "then don't let this one get away. Hold on to her."

The look that graced his face was one of thanks. He nodded at her and stood up; kissing her lightly on the cheek before leaving.

…

"_There is only so long a person go without confronting their demons and you're going to do just fine for a while…but everyone has a breaking point Jasper. Something will eventually cause you to break and when that happens – please remember…you're not alone."_

It had taken several months.

News of the Princess ending up deathly ill in the hospital had caused him to finally breakdown and confess _all_ to Marcus and Dominique – and in return the two of them had vowed undying silence.

But things were different now.

Jasper huffed as he rounded a corner, entering a desolate corridor within the busy hospital; looking for a spot where they could be alone. He could sense _her_ following him. He had known that it would only be a matter of time before they were to have this conversation. The look on Eleanor's face when she had emerged from Dominique's hospital room had told him everything he had needed to know. Of course he couldn't hold anything against Dominique. She was like the sister he had never had. His poor friend had probably thought that she was going to die, and in that moment she had tried to unburden her soul.

But that was the funny thing about the truth. As painful as it was, it always had a way of coming out.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eleanor questioned, finally catching up to him.

"If I had, would you have let me leave?" he asked, not meeting her eyes.

Eleanor went quiet at that.

Jasper exhaled loudly, "thought so."

Eleanor swallowed hard, "so what now?"

Jasper shrugged, still refusing to meet her gaze. "You go back to Beck."

Eleanor went rigid at that, "what?!" she balked.

"It's what's best for everyone," Jasper spoke quickly, before he lost the courage to do so. "You said it yourself. You could never love me the way you do Beck."

He hadn't realized when she had closed the space between them. She had approached him so soundlessly and quietly that she had startled him when she grabbed him to face her.

"You're right," she conceded, grabbing his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her, "I can't love you the way I did him, because what I had once felt for Beck is nowhere near as powerful as what I feel for you."

Jasper tried to struggle out of her grasp, but she held on to him.

"You loved me at my worst," she cried; caressing his face as she held it, "so you deserve me at my best." Jasper finally met her gaze. "I got sober for you," Eleanor continued, "because I need you." He looked away from her again, and tried to break free from her grasp. Eleanor fought him, refusing to let go, "you always know what I need. How can you not see it?! I love you. Don't you love me?"

Jasper finally broke the hold she had on him, and took a step back, "I can't love you," he warned, "and you _know_ why," he added quickly, in an attempt to keep her at bay. Eleanor shook her head and reached for him.

"It's wrong," Jasper continued, flinching away from her. "We can't."

"But we can," Eleanor implored, refusing to listen to reason. She tried to grab for him, but he kept slipping between her fingers.

Jasper frowned, looking at her horrified, "do you even hear yourself right now?!"

She was as stubborn as ever. "But I love you."

Jasper felt sick. He couldn't be here with her any longer. "Stop this," he demanded, just as Eleanor finally caught hold of him again, "no! Don't touch me Len! It's wrong."

She was unshakable, "no! Staying apart is wrong," she grabbed his collar and pulled him towards her.

Jasper struggled against her, "what are you doing?!"

"Don't fight it," she pleaded, pressing her forehead against his.

Jasper lost himself in her eyes; practically drowning in them. "Len..."

"How can being with me be wrong, when it clearly feels so right?" She challenged hoarsely.

He was losing touch on reality. "Stop," he reasoned.

She was beyond reasoning with. "Don't fight it," she soothed.

Everything around him was ceasing to exist. All he could see was her, "stop," he beseeched.

Eleanor looked at him sadly. "Please!" she begged. He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "...please," she repeated.

Jasper sighed, throwing all sorts of logic and reason out of the window. He met her gaze levelly. The intensity of his gaze sucked all the air out of her.

He finally gave into her, "you know I can't say no to you."

The smile that broke out on her face was interrupted with his lips crashing down onto hers. All she could do was grin into his kiss, before surrendering herself completely to him.

…

Helena stormed through the Palace angrily. Where was he? She couldn't find him anywhere.

"Lose something?" Cyrus cooed as he swarmed to her side.

"My husband," Helena muttered bitterly, causing Cyrus to go rigid.

"What?" Cyrus hollered. "You were supposed to keep him occupied!"

"I tried," Helena groused, "but it's like he's turned monk."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at her, "well you better find him. He cannot learn of what we've done."

…

Liam had just stepped into Dominique's hospital room when the sudden announcement that The King had arrived caused him to halt in his tracks.

King Simon stepped into the room, eyeing both Dominique and Liam gravely as he did so. "I take it that you've learned the truth."

Liam watched as the guards stepped out of the room, finally leaving him alone with his father.

Simon looked more tired than usual. His health was failing. It had been all anyone everywhere could ever talk about: the dying King and the unwed Heir that would take his place. Despite his health, Liam wasn't about to let his illness cushion his wrath. His father deserved his anger.

"I failed you," Simon began, obviously starting an apology that Liam wasn't even sure he wanted to hear. "I couldn't protect you. I still can't."

Liam bit his tongue.

"But I can save her," King Simon cried despite himself, "I can save your daughter. I can spare her all the horrors that come with the throne."

Liam turned on Simon so fast that he barely even had time to react, "you never failed me...until now," Liam fumed. "You robbed me of my daughter dad. My daughter!"

Simon looked at him helplessly.

"This isn't all on him," Dominique spoke behind him; interrupting. "I'm just as much to blame."

"Well then," Liam groused, "let's do that. Let's talk about you. Why Dom?! Why did you do it? Why did you not tell me?"

"Because I was your rebound," she stated angrily.

Simon blinked at that; trying his best to somehow blend into the wall – clearly no longer wanting to be here.

Liam looked at her gobsmacked. "What?!"

"I was your Ophelia replacement," Dominique yelled, "don't even try to deny it. You were drawn to me because I reminded you of her. The only reason we got close was because you had disillusioned yourself."

"Is that what you thought?" Liam stated horrified. "Is that what you think?"

Dominique looked away from him.

He advanced towards her bed, "Dominique I love you!"

She ignored him.

"I love you damn it!" He shook his head and took a seat next to her on the hospital bed, "look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't love me."

Dominique looked down at her hands. Her silence told him everything he needed to know. He grabbed her without thinking and pulled her closer to him, making her gasp in pain.

Panicking, he immediately let go, "sorry."

Dominique frowned, "I spent years pretending to be something that I wasn't," she reminded - the memory of their warring families and Domino hung between them. "I won't do that again. I won't let my daughter suffer that fate."

Liam grimaced, "You belong with me. You both do."

"And you belong to England," Dominique reminded quietly, "you can't have us both."

"Dominique-"

"You belong to England," Dominique reminded, "you will always have to choose England. You will always put England first – as you should…but our daughter deserves more than that."

Liam turned to look at Simon. His father had gone peculiarly quiet. "I wanted the abolishment," Simon reminded him simply. "_You_ didn't."

Liam frowned.

"I tried to warn you. But you wanted this life," King Simon sighed, "…so live it."

…

Jasper pushed Eleanor away breathlessly. She looked at him frustrated as he did so.

He struggled to catch his breath as well as his bearings, "a moment of weakness," he mumbled, brushing aside their sudden craze of passion.

Eleanor looked at him confused.

"That is all that was," Jasper rambled, trying his best to stay calm, reality having returned and sunk back in, "we can never do that again."

Eleanor refused to comply, "Jasper-"

"No!" he yelled – a lot more loudly than he had intended to, but he just couldn't be here with her anymore. "I have to go."

Eleanor grabbed him before he could make a run for it. She grabbed him by the arm and swung him around to face her again, "I am not letting you go this time. Not without proof."

Jasper looked at her confused. "What?"

"You heard me," Eleanor confirmed. "I will talk to Liam. I will talk to my fa… to The King."

Jasper looked at her horrified. "You can't be serious!"

Eleanor looked him dead in the eyes, "I am bloody serious."

…

"You know what your problem is," Ted Pryce reasoned taking a seat next to Liam in the waiting room. "You don't live for yourself – and that is why you will never be happy."

Liam sighed heavily, "I gather Ophelia told you we broke up."

"Actually no," Ted stated surprised, with a slight hint of glee. "Can't say I'm surprised. It's for the best."

Liam couldn't help but smile wretchedly, "because she can do so much better."

Ted Pryce paused and looked him over. He turned to him, his tone serious, "Your Majesty. You need to stop selling yourself short."

Liam looked at him confused.

Ted sighed, "I've had the honour of watching you grow. But sadly my boy – you live simply to fulfill all of your father's dreams, as if you expect that that is what he wants of you."

Liam scowled.

Ted chuckled matter-of-factly in response, "but King Simon is not a narcissist…that honour belongs to your uncle."

Liam relaxed and listened to him intently.

"Your Father doesn't love you because you are molded in his image," Ted clapped him lightly on the back, "he loves you for you. So do him proud and just be you. I know what it feels like, living your life for a higher cause," his time with The Company bubbled the surface of his memory but he cast it aside. "The burden of it chips away slowly at you. I have been devoted to The Company and your Majesties for as long as I can remember – sort of in the same way you are to England. But lad, a piece of advice – don't try to be something you're not or you'll never be happy."

Liam looked up at him pensively and smiled.

Ted straightened, spotting Eleanor fast approaching with Jasper chasing after her and begging her '_not to_.'

Liam stood up; bracing himself. He knew, just by looking at Eleanor's face of what she would ask for. He had expected this the moment Dominique had told them _the full truth _on her almost death bed.

Jasper looked beside himself.

Liam smiled, "I'll speak to dad. It's about time that we all learned the truth."

…

***** PLEASE REVIEW *****


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: **As you shall notice (if you're a long-time reader), this story has undergone a FACELIFT. As much as I love Prudence as a character, I really came to love Dominique's more this past season – as well as her interactions with Liam. As a result, this story has now been retooled to better cater towards her character.

If you're new to this story and just discovering it - then please do ignore the above. It will make no sense to you.

Anyhoo, I hope we get to see more of Dominque in season 3 given that she played a huge role in the events that unfolded near the end of Season 2.

As always, feedback is much appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: You know what's mine – and what's not.

…

_¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·. 1 MONTH LATER…¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·._

"Your Majesty."

Helena looked up from the letter she had been penning and met Rachel's perturbed gaze. She had known her secretary a long time – Rachel had a thick skin. She was a kindred spirit–a commoner still–but a fierce one at that. Therefore, seeing the look of worry on Rachel's face alarmed Helena more than it should have.

"What?" Helena asked, hoping the dread she felt coursing through her veins didn't show on her face. A darker part of her wondered if Rachel's presence meant that Simon had finally died – the gears in her head worked in overdrive to keep up with the pending plots she had yet to set in motion.

"It's about the _Princess_," Rachel warned.

Helena simply narrowed her eyes.

…

Cyrus's smile was wide, like that of the cat that had swallowed a canary.

News of Princess Eleanor's sudden marriage was spreading like wild fire.

It made his insides tickle with glee.

Today would be an entertaining day after all.

It was going to be great fun watching Helena scramble about trying to put this fire out.

…

The helicopter touched down on the grounds and settled before guards ran and swarmed around it.

Liam eyed Dominique carefully. As per order of the King, they were all returning home today.

Dominique turned to look at Liam, "You don't have to do this you know… you don't have to protect me."

Liam smiled at her. His smile was as vibrant as the sun. The first of many true smiles that had graced his face in years; they only seemed to show up when she was around. "I know I don't have to," he stated excitedly, "I _want_ to."

Dominique arched an eyebrow at him, suddenly very aware of him. She returned his smile nervously. "Do you think she suspects anything?"

"Intel has suggested otherwise," Liam replied quietly. He was failing miserably at keeping the worry he felt out of his voice.

Dominique clasped her hand gently with his and squeezed. The small gesture of hers worked its usual magic and provided him with a calm that he had desperately needed.

Liam eyed her levelly. "Stick by me. Don't panic. We get in and then out."

She nodded back at him nervously.

Liam looked at her and exhaled loudly. He caressed her face softly and stared at her for a long time as if he were memorizing her face. Dominique furrowed her eyebrows at him, snapping him out of his daze. Liam looked down and then up at her causing Dominique to arch an eyebrow at him confused, "what?" she asked carefully. She knew how difficult this was going to be for him.

Liam smiled at her gently, "I love you."

Dominique blinked. She looked down at his hands and took them in hers again. When she looked up at him again, the fierceness in her eyes stunned him. "I love you too."

Liam leaned into her, kissing her slowly at first until the kiss deepened to the point that both of them forgot the world.

…

"It's an embarrassment! A disgrace!" Helena bellowed despite herself.

Simon fought the urge to roll his eyes at her. "Nice to see you too."

"Oh shove it," Helena ignored. "My ill husband disappears for a month – and I can't find him," she continued, laying into him. "Can you imagine what the headlines would have read had the people somehow found out: Queen Misplaces Dying King!"

"I needed a vacation," Simon stated flippantly, which only served to further anger Helena.

In the corner of the room Cyrus was grinning madly thoroughly enjoying the show. This was the most fun he'd had in…well he wasn't quite sure.

"A phone call would have been nice," Helena fumed. "And why was it such a big secret? Where were you?"

Simon looked up at her carefully and eyed her like a tumor, "New York."

The reaction to his honest revelation was brief. The way both Cyrus and Helena averted their gazes and pretended like everything was fine told him all he needed. They hadn't expected him to honestly answer where he had disappeared off to, and the fact that he had, had thrown them both for a loop.

"Nothing to add?" Simon asked when it became apparent that he had somehow managed to make them both extremely nervous.

Cyrus scoffed and got up – simply choosing to leave, and clearly abandoning Helena to fend for herself. His wife only balked at him and instead chose to shift the conversation back towards their wayward daughter. "How will we deal with this?"

Simon sighed heavily, "Deal with what?"

Helena almost looked offended at his relaxed attitude, "the clear farce of a marriage!"

Simon shrugged, "I think it's too late for me to divorce you, don't you think."

Helena narrowed her eyes at him.

Simon sighed, "Jasper has already garnered goodwill among the people," he prompted, referring to Jasper's heroic acts during the last attack on the Palace. "The people love him. He's England's hero."

"He's still a commoner," Helena refuted.

"He's a Royal," Simon corrected.

Helena laughed. "Hardly. Marrying into our family will not make him that."

"Marrying into a royal family worked for you," Simon reminded.

Helena eyed him dubiously. "Oh forget you," she muttered, "I'll take care of this myself."

Simon watched as she stalked off and smiled to himself once she was out of sight. "I'd expect nothing less."

…

Jasper hung up after having just spoken to Marcus. Eleanor appeared by his side and beamed. They were standing in the Throne room.

"What?" he asked – when she wouldn't stop her relentless smiling.

"It's adorable how you care for her," Eleanor admitted, referring to Destiny.

"She's a good kid," he noted.

She hugged him. "You're going to make one hell of a father someday," she stated in awe.

"Hey!" Jasper grinned, "Slow down. We only just got married."

Eleanor playfully shoved him, "you know what I mean."

Jasper gently pulled her back in to his arms.

Eleanor smiled happily back up at him, content – choosing to ignore the surrounding Guards that stood veiled and out of sight, positioned in various crannies of the room.

Helena cleared her throat suddenly as she stepped into the Throne room – interrupting their moment and brought them out of their happy haze. "How nice. Tarnishing your family's reputation must be your new drug of choice."

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh, "reputation? What reputation?!"

"Oh let her have her fun," Cyrus brushed off, entering the room lazily with a drink in hand. It wasn't even noon yet.

Helena spun around, "this doesn't concern you."

"Oh everything concerns me darling," Cyrus cooed. "Especially when potential's for the Throne drop like flies." He set his gaze on Eleanor, "one down. One to go."

Next to her Jasper stiffened. "Is that a threat?!"

Cyrus grinned darkly, "I don't make threats dove."

"No," Jasper returned his grin, "No. You hide like a little bitch and order men with actual balls to do your dirty work for you."

Ordinarily Helena would have relished someone talking down to Cyrus and putting him in his place – but Jasper wasn't just anyone. Even though she hated to admit it, Jasper had somehow become England's darling. The people loved him. And as a result, Helena needed him gone. The gears in her head were already desperately churning out a plan. She needed to destroy all of his fanfare. It would be harder for her to eliminate Eleanor from claiming her rights to the Throne otherwise. With Jasper by Eleanor's side and given all the progress that had been made, Eleanor had made both Helena as well as Cyrus's jobs harder. Earlier, plans to bring Liam down would have left the two of them at a better advantage – citing Eleanor's incompetence, but Eleanor had squashed that hope by making strides to become clean. The People had taken notice. And now with a worthy partner by her side, it would be impossible for them to find grounds to dethrone her. Helena knew she needed to set fire to their relationship – and she had to do so fast.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at Jasper, "do you even understand what you're saying and who you're saying it too?"

Jasper didn't waver, "did I stutter? Should I repeat myself? …or has the alcohol already impaired you for the day? You ought to slow down on that stuff – especially at your age."

Cyrus barred his teeth, "careful boy."

Jasper smirked, "is that a _threat_?"

Eleanor suddenly stood in front Jasper, fiercely, shielding him, protectively. The act of hers was a dare, which only served to fuel Cyrus, "so what if it is?"

Helena arched an eyebrow, "is this what you've been reduced to?" she mocked her daughter; "…this is what happens when you marry beneath you."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes at her.

Behind her Jasper was still fixated on Cyrus's murderous gaze. "Bring it." His response to Cyrus was only met by unison of taunting hearty laughter.

"It's a shame that you're not as smart as you are pretty," Helena gibed, staring pointedly at Eleanor as she reached a hand to quickly and lightly caress Jasper's face. Jasper flinched. "But pretty things tend to get destroyed in this Palace…they break easily," she stated with a small almost wistful smile.

Helena turned to Cyrus, "come now Cyrus," she beckoned smiling ear to ear as she led Cyrus out of the room. "I'm sure my daughter will do what's right." She paused in her tracks and looked over her shoulder, "if your _Bodyguard_ means anything to you – you know what you have to do. Otherwise…"

Cyrus grinned, "We all remember what happened to the late Dominique Stewart."

…

Simon looked at his watch and exhaled. He hoped everything was going exactly as planned. He could only trust that it would. He had no way of knowing, and he prayed that things were proceeding as they had all timed it to be. Simon cleared his throat and nodded at the anchor in the news studio.

"We're live," the cameraman shouted, "in 5, 4, 3, 2…"

…

"One second!" Cyrus screeched into his phone despite himself. "He's doing what?!"

Helena was already in front of the TV staring angrily at the screen. "What is he doing?!"

"…It was my dying wish," Simon was saying, addressing the public as he spoke. "And with a heavy heart I - King Simon Henstridge… officially delegitimize both Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor."

Helena could already hear the sound of the people and uproar that this news was bound to create. She caught sight of Cyrus grinning across the room out of the corner of her eye.

Simon soon began to babble about DNA tests, which caused Helena to stand up abruptly. She barely had taken a step when both Eleanor and Liam came storming into the sitting room.

The anger coursing through Liam was unmistakable. He was so angry that he was shaking. "What did you do?!" he demanded; the venom that dripped from him alarmed them both.

"Us?" Cyrus brushed off, "_we _didn't do anything. I would love to take credit for this – but I'm just as surprised by this as you are nephew…oh wait." Cyrus's grin was the widest Liam had ever seen, "you aren't that, now are you?"

Liam clenched his fists, but instead turned on his mother, "you're to blame!" he yelled.

Helena narrowed her eyes at him.

"If you hadn't been such a slut we would–" SLAP.

Liam froze.

Helena stood seething in front of him. He didn't meet her gaze. His head still stayed frozen in place from the force of her slap, his cheek facing her, his gaze fixated to the left side of the room.

"I am your mother," Helena spat. "You speak to me with respect."

Liam turned slowly to face her, "mother? saying that that is what you are doesn't make you so."

Helena could only stare at him with wide eyes.

Liam shook his head, "I'm done…"

Cyrus stared at him curiously.

"I'm done!" Liam yelled. He eyed them both. "The Throne. The Crown. The Title. It's all yours. I don't want it!"

Cyrus and Helena could barely get a word or a jibe in. He turned on his heels as quickly as he had stormed in and left.

Eleanor who had stood quietly watching it all simply eyed Cyrus and her mother with quiet contempt.

Cyrus chuckled at Liam's exit. "All talk and no fight. He's a fool."

"Don't call him that," Eleanor grumbled, causing both Helena and Cyrus to look at her. "You know what, better he be a fool rather than the devils that you both are."

"Eleanor," Helena warned.

"Look around you!" Eleanor yelled. "The crown means nothing if you're alone. Money, power, fame and name – all of that means nothing. Is this truly the life you want?!"

Helena turned her back on her, "get out."

Eleanor looked at her startled. "What?"

"Get out," Helena repeated.

"But-"

"Maybe you didn't hear your mother," Cyrus droned without a care, "Get. Out."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes at him, "It's your life. Live it. What do I care? But like your balls, you only have one."

Cyrus could only eye her angrily through wide eyes.

Helena still refused to turn around.

Eleanor spun on her heels and left, "remember that."

…

***** PLEASE REVIEW *****

Friendly Spoiler: The next chapter will be the last one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author Note: **This is the last chapter and I do hope that you enjoy it. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to read this story and an even heartier thanks to those of you who were kind enough to leave a review. God bless.

Please note that some of the text in this chapter doesn't belong to me – it was taken from the live telecast of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.

**Disclaimer**: You know what's mine – and what's not.

…

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Eleanor started and turned away from the large window that she had been staring out of and turned to face her future sister-in-law.

It had been a week since everyone had returned to England and that of which Simon had made his big announcement. She still wasn't sure who was more shocked by it: her mother – whom of which had now found herself with a clear path to The Throne OR her contemptible Uncle – who probably at this moment was out shopping for a Crown…if even such a thing existed. She didn't know if anyone could be Crowned rectally – considering that Cyrus's head was so far up his ass that the task of crowning him might probably require surgery.

Eleanor sighed and approached Dominique giddily. The said girl was dressed to dazzle in an elegant wedding dress. "Today is all about you," she reminded supportively.

Dominque smiled brightly and looked at the ground. "Do you think he'll like it," she asked referring to her dress.

Eleanor almost snorted despite herself, "you could wear a paper bag and my brother would still think you as the most beautiful thing he's ever seen."

Dominique laughed, "That's a pretty thought…but I doubt it. Can you imagine it? I think Liam's first thought realistically would be that I must have gotten high."

Eleanor joined in her laughter and pointed at herself, "and guess who supplied you the drugs."

…

"Nervous?" Jasper asked as he watched Marcus pin a cufflink to Liam's right wrist.

Liam arched an eyebrow, "nervous? I could skip down the aisle right this minute."

Holden, Ivan and Ashok grinned.

"How manly," Ashok joked.

Liam threw a boutonniere at him in protest. He then turned to Jasper. "Did you speak to Dad?"

…

Helena turned away from the full length mirror that she had been standing in front of - and faced Rachel as she came storming in. She let out a loud sigh, "what is it now?"

Rachel seemed hesitant, which only made Helena even more annoyed. She was getting tired of everyone thinking or treating her like a piece of glass - something they thought they either had to baby or wanted to smash to the ground.

She wasn't glass. She was a shard.

Helena sharpened her gaze, causing Rachel to spill all. "It's about your son. He's getting married…_Today_."

Helena dropped the dress she had been holding and fumed. "Find Cyrus!"

Rachel nodded and turned to leave.

"Rachel!"

Rachel halted and turned to look back at her Queen. "Yes your Majesty?"

"Get me my best dress," and though Helena's back was to her, Rachel caught sight of the dark smile that crept over Helena's face. "I have a wedding to crash."

…

Simon barely had time to register what the bundle of ruffles was before it collided with him. Destiny's excited chatter alerted him to who she was before she even looked up at him.

She must have gotten into the sweets table or one the boys must have caved to her adorable pouting and had given her whatever her little heart had demanded.

Simon bent down to pick her up, but stalled. A sudden rush of nausea overcame him and he struggled to right himself. It had been such a task to get out of bed this morning. His illness was winning, but he was not going to let it take today away from him.

Destiny peered up at him with worry. He could tell that she knew something was not right with him, and her lower lip trembled – warning that tears were soon to come if he didn't tell her otherwise.

Simon patted her head gently, before extending his hand to hers for her to hold, "let's go find a seat."

She nodded up at him and took his hand, "the best one," she promised, "one saved special for a King."

…

"Is it time already?" Dominique asked.

Eleanor looked at her watch and shook her head. She turned away from Dominique to attend to the light knock that had come at the door. She opened it a fraction and peered out, hoping that it wasn't Liam and readying herself to chase him away with warnings of it being bad luck.

"Who is it?" Dominique asked behind her.

Eleanor pushed the door open revealing Jasper.

Jasper narrowed his eyes at Eleanor, "I thought you promised to put her in something ugly," he said to Dominique, causing Eleanor to gasp. "It's bad manners to upstage the bride."

Eleanor relaxed at that, causing Dominque to grin, "Good save." She then did a double take and looked at Jasper, "have you seen Simon yet?"

His phone rang at that moment, causing Jasper to stall. He looked at his screen and held up the phone, "telepathy…" Both girls smiled. Jasper answered quickly, "hey!" He looked at both girls suddenly and motioned silently that he'd see them later, not before quickly pecking Eleanor on the cheek before breezing out of the room.

Dominque watched him go before turning to Eleanor, "so how are things with them? Better?"

Eleanor's smile was sad, "they've bonded a lot. I just wish they both had more time with each other."

Dominique squeezed her hand lightly, "they have each other _now_. That's all that matters."

…

Simon smiled as he approached the altar.

Dominique and Liam had opted for a countryside wedding. The guests in attendance were all townspeople save for Ashok, Marcus, Ted, Beck, Imogen, Wilhelmina, Holden, Ivan, Nick, Ophelia, and Gemma.

The aisle was decorated simply with a beautiful arrangement of Forget Me Nots and Baby's Breath.

"I'm glad you're here," Liam exclaimed going for a hug.

Simon pointed upwards, after pulling away from Liam, "I made him promise to let me have this day."

Liam's eyes were misted.

"Hey," Simon caught his elbow. "I'm so proud of you."

Liam nodded and smiled, "Thanks dad."

…

"You ready?" Eleanor whispered as she and Dominque slowly approached the aisle.

She could hear the start of the wedding march that Ashok and Marcus had begun to play.

Dominique nodded and let out a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."

…

Rani couldn't stop the smile that kept growing in size across her face. "This better not be a fluke!"

"It is not Prime Minister," her assistant confirmed. "Official word came from The Palace this morning. King Simon knows he doesn't have much time left."

Rani smirked, "make sure _Helena_ is kept in the dark about this until the very end. When the announcement is made to The People I want her completely blindsided."

…

"Do you Liam promise to take this woman as your wife? To love and to honor all the days of your life. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Liam smiled and nodded, "I do."

"And do you Dominique promise to take this man as your husband? To love and to honor all the days of your life. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Dominique fought back tears and nodded, "I do."

Liam squeezed her hand lightly.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife…You may now kiss your bride."

Liam pulled Dominique into a hot blooded kiss while everyone around them erupted into applause.

The happy couple held hands and turned - ready to run down the aisle but froze.

As they halted in their tracks, the applause around them slowly died.

Liam eyed his mother at the end of the aisle angrily.

"Sorry we're late," Cyrus chirped.

"Our invitations must have got lost in the mail," Helena noted.

Liam frowned, "you weren't invited."

Whispers broke out among the guests; hushed tones loud enough to be heard stating that The Queen had arrived.

"She's no Queen," Simon spoke – alarming the uninvited duo and shushing the guests. "Just leave."

"But we brought a gift," Helena pouted.

"We don't want it," Liam spat.

"Whether you want it or not – you will take it," Helena bullied. "You will have no choice but to accept it –you and your sister both. You both took vows without me – now I make one in front of you: I will destroy Jasper and Dominique and there isn't anything either of you will be able to do to stop me. You both will kneel before me. I will see to it that you beg. You will cry and plead with me to have mercy on them. I cannot say what I will say to you on that day. But that is my promise to you."

"HELENA!" Simon yelled; his face red with anger.

"You won't live long enough to save them," Helena continued, "isn't that right Cyrus?"

"How I've waited for this day brother," Cyrus stated with venom, "you belittled me at every step, faked my cancer, sent my son away – had my lover killed. I will stand firm at Helena's side and help her destroy her bastard children. There isn't anyone alive who can save them now after you're gone."

Simon's face was an unnatural unhealthy shade, "you're wrong," he wheezed. He collapsed on to the ground.

"Father!" Liam yelled.

Eleanor had already grabbed Simon and had his head in her lap. The expression on his face was painful. The wedding guests erupted into a swarm of gasps and shock. Eleanor patted his hair, hoping to ease his pain, "it's okay Dad. It'll be ok."

Dominique held onto a crying Destiny and fell to Liam's side.

"You're wrong," Simon croaked.

Ted and Marcus tried to keep Helena and Cyrus at bay as they loomed over Simon.

Jasper sat at Simon's side and reached for his hand.

Simon looked at Cyrus and Helena, "in due course – all shall be revealed."

Helena and Cyrus didn't have a chance to respond. The Royal guards had descended and had swept them away.

Simon reached for Jasper's hand and squeezed it, "make me proud son," he whispered, struggling for breath.

Simon's dying words rung in the air, "Long live The King!"

…

_¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·.2 WEEKS LATER…¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·._

"The Prime Minster seeks an audience with you both," Rachel informed, "_tomorrow_."

"Oh for God sake. Tomorrow is The Coronation. She ought to know that," Cyrus lamented. "Remind her that The Royals are much too busy to squeeze her in."

"No, no!" Helena dissuaded, "let's hear the pathetic bitch out. She can have her 5 minutes of glory…I'll swiftly knock her off her high horse immediately after.

Cyrus chuckled.

…

"Well there isn't a law saying that The King and The Queen have to be married," Ted informed to a tired Eleanor, "so that is the platform and sordid alliance that your mother and uncle plan to stand on."

"It's a disgrace," Eleanor fretted. "We only just buried him a few days ago. One would have thought that all those years with him would matter."

"Len," Liam reminded, "Dad lived with grace. He was buried with such. It doesn't matter what she does – she will never be able to take that away."

"No, but it is _us_ that she wants to take everything away from," Eleanor frowned.

Liam looked up at her, looking suddenly older than she had remembered, "let her try," her brother challenged. "She cannot win. We have England on our side. We have The People. We have our family," he reached over, squeezed her hand and smiled a secret smile, "…but more importantly we have _The King_."

…

Helena and Cyrus hadn't expected the large audience that greeted them as they waltzed into The Throne Room. Truth be told the only person they expected to find was Rani - The Prime Minister, and yet every member of Parliament, Guard and Servant of The Palace - stood in the room waiting for their entry.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at the Special Police Force that stood in the room as well and looked to Helena confused. "What is going on?!" he demanded through a whisper.

Helena approached Rani, whom of which was smiling far too broadly for her liking. "What is this!?" Helena demanded. "Do you have any idea where you're standing?!"

Rani's smile only grew in size. "Oh you don't get to ask the questions today _Helena_."

Helena's eyes widened at the mention of her name. Next to her Cyrus was staring at Rani as if she was mental.

"I'll ask the questions – and I only have just one," Rani informed, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Helena could barely pay attention to her because the sight of Jasper and Eleanor walking towards her caught her off guard. As the two of them approached, Helena could see that they were both dressed in regal attire. But it wasn't their cloths that had garnered her attention.

It was the Crowns.

Rani stepped out of the way and bowed as they entered.

As did everyone else who stood in the room.

Helena and Cyrus simply stood in dumbfounded shock, before taking the time to find their voices.

"What blasphemy is this?!" Cyrus shrieked.

"Do you have a death wish," Helena screamed, eyeing Eleanor and shaking with embarrassment.

"Oh no," Rani intervened. "I ask the questions," she reminded.

Helena looked as though she wanted to do nothing more than to run up to her and punch her.

Cyrus was so angry that he'd gone silent – a complete loss for words.

"I ask this," Rani powered through, refusing to back down, "did you or did you not both _threaten_ his Majesty The King of England?"

It wasn't the question that had floored Helena and Cyrus, but rather _whom_ she was referring to.

Helena looked at Rani incredulously and pointed at Jasper, "_him?_" she laughed, "seriously!" she grabbed at her stomach for show and laughed harder – Cyrus soon joined in. "Oh please."

Rani eyed a fellow minister and motioned him over. He handed her a file. She opened it and grabbed a piece of paper, "I King Simon Henstridge - of sound mind, hereby legitimize Jasper Frost as my legal heir."

Helena deadpanned.

"What?!" Cyrus screeched.

"I furthermore hereby name my son Jasper Fraulein Rocheleau Othello Strix Tannehill – as my successor to The Throne."

Eleanor simply smiled at her mother.

The truth of why Jasper had truly left was now coming to light.

"This can't be," Helena insisted, but the mention of the ridiculously long lastname began to set in – a long forgotten memory bubbling to the surface. _Annabelle._

Helena quickly tossed the memory of Annabelle Fraulein Rocheleau Othello Strix Tannehill from her mind – making her disappear. Just as Simon's mother had seen to that years ago. "He had no other child," Helena maintained.

"Oh but he did," Dominique spoke, causing Helena to spin around. Liam flanked her side and eyed his mother warily as they approached.

"You targeted my aunt unjustly," Dominique stated bitterly. "You thought you won. You were wrong. My aunt wasn't the great love of Simon's life. Jasper's mother was."

"This is a trap," Cyrus insisted. "They've orchestrated it," he beseeched to the ministers. "It's all a lie. A fabrication. They're-"

"They're the new monarchs," Rani interrupted. "Not you." She turned and smiled cockily at Helena, "or _you_." Helena clenched her fists. "No," Rani continued haughtily, "the two of you are headed to jail for _threatening _our King. And before you claim otherwise, we've got a town full of people who attended Liam and Dominique's wedding ready to corroborate as such to The Court."

Helena and Cyrus let out a slew of curse words as The Royal Guards closed in on them.

Eleanor and Liam shared a happy smile and turned their backs on the duo as they were hauled off.

For once, The Palace was finally freed of its demons.

…

_¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·. 1 MONTH LATER…¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨)  
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·._

The loud church bells and the even louder cheers from The People did little to help calm Eleanor's nerves. It was silly really. She was used to people staring at her. She was used to wide-scale attention. She and Jasper were _already_ married for heaven's sake, but for some reason she just couldn't seem to relax.

Her emotions were all over the place – maybe the way she felt had to do with how quickly everything had come about. She still couldn't believe that this was actually happening.

She kept waiting for the shoe to drop…for the rug to be pulled out from under her…for her to wake up and realize that everything that had happened lately had all been some crazy _dream_.

If this was a dream, she hoped she never woke up. Her heart wouldn't be able to bear it.

"You ready?" Liam asked from his seat next to her.

Eleanor took a deep breath and watched as Ophelia and Marcus approached the Rolls-Royce they had been sitting in. She turned to look at him and nodded, "be careful with my train," she warned. Liam's response was his trademark blazing grin.

Ted opened the car door and Marcus extended a hand to her. She took it and slowly began to make her way out of the car. Behind her, she could feel Liam awkwardly trying to readjust her massive train on the way out.

She quickly handed her bouquet to Ophelia to hold as she struggled to get a proper footing. How embarrassing would it be if she were to fall right here? Eleanor shivered at the thought and tried to seem as poised as ever – despite the fact that she felt like a newborn fawn.

She could hear Liam laughing behind her – twin telepathy and all. She cursed him mentally knowing he was bound to hear her. She didn't dare look back at him. She knew if she did, she might just start laughing and that was not something she wanted the world witnessing on today of all days. Magazine rags would probably have a field day and accuse her of either returning to drugs or perhaps thinking she was suffering some kind of mental breakdown.

She wouldn't let that happen. She had come so far from being that girl. She was never going back to that. For her sake. As well as Jasper's.

She took a few elegant steps having finally righted herself and waved gracefully to the large crowd that had gathered around Westminster Abbey.

Liam handed over her train to Ophelia to do the rest of the honours, before coming to join her as her escort into the church. He extended his hand to her and looked at her teary eyed.

"Don't get sappy on me," Eleanor threatened, "you'll only make me tear up – and I can't have you making me mess up my makeup." She took his hand gently and squeezed it.

Liam smiled, "I love you, you know?"

Eleanor nodded at him, misty eyed. "Damnit," she cursed quietly, inso that only he could hear. She blinked quickly hoping that it would help her gather her emotions and keep them in check. "I love you too."

Liam began to lead her in to the church.

Eleanor waved warmly one final time to The People before both she and Liam disappeared in to the church to meet the Dean before her procession.

…

The choir erupted into song alerting Jasper to the fact that Eleanor was making her entrance.

Eleanor's walk down the aisle had felt like years to him. As he waited for her to join him, an uncomfortable knot formed in his stomach. A horrid thought crossed his mind, and he fought the urge to turn to see if she really was coming up to join him – or had thought better of it and had fled at the last moment – an emptiness suddenly filled him up at the thought.

Jasper took a deep breath hoping that it would help him quell his nerves. He struggled to fight the urge to play with his hands.

He caught sight of the Dean of the Cathedral before he felt her presence. She had such a warmth to her – that it was infectious. His nerves calmed immediately and he quickly reached for her hand; the emptiness that he had felt suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a very full bright feeling ignited by her mere touch.

She looked at him and smiled warmly.

…

Whatever insecurities that had plagued her earlier disappeared the moment she joined Jasper up on the altar.

He had surprised her by grabbing her hand – an act of which that broke from regular protocol – but he was King now. He could do whatever the hell he wanted.

She smiled at him and watched as he returned it – watching him do so caused an unexplainable warmth to fill her being and made her feel at ease. She slowly let go of his hand and turned to face the Dean.

The Dean of the Cathedral watched them both and smiled before beginning, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony: which is an honourable estate, instituted of God himself signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church. Which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence and first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee and is commended in Holy Writ to be honourable among all men. And therefore it's not by any to be enterprised nor taken in hand unadvisedly, lightly or wantonly, but reverently, discretely, soberly, and in the fear of God; duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained. First, it was ordained for the increase of mankind according to the will of God and that children might be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord and to the praise of his holy name. Secondly, it was ordained in order that the natural instincts and affections implanted by God should be hallowed and directed right that those who are called of God to this holy estate should continue therein in pureness of living. Thirdly, it was ordained for the mutual society, help and comfort that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity. Into which holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined. Therefore if any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace..."

The Dean eyed the room warily before stepping aside. The Archbishop of Canterburytaking his place; reading from his book – he began,_ "_I require and charge you both, as ye will answer at the dreadful day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, ye do now confess it. For be ye well assured, that so many as are coupled together otherwise than God's Word doth allow are not joined together by God; neither is their Matrimony lawful."

The Archbishop paused, before looking to Jasper, "Jasper Henstridge, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"

Jasper nodded curtly, "I will."

"Ch-yeah he does!" Ashok hollered from somewhere withiin the cathedral causing disapproval and hooting (probably Ivan and Holden) to erupt in the church. Jasper and Eleanor both fought a smile.

The Archbishop powered on, despite the disruption, "Eleanor Henstridge, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honour and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"

Eleanor looked at Jasper and beamed, "I will."

This time the little voice that yelled in appreciation belonged to Destiny, "Yeah she does!"

Everyone in the church laughed at that. Dominque struggled to keep her still, while Ashok and Destiny exchanged celebratory high fives.

Jasper and Eleanor did break from protocol this time and broke into laughter. Once everyone in the church had regained their composure the Archbishop continued with ease. "Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?"

Liam cleared his throat and took Eleanor's hand in his and handed it to Jasper. The two of them exchanged a look; a silent conversation that told that Liam was handing over one his most prized possessions – and that Jasper promised to cherish her always." They nodded at each other in comradery.

The rest of the ceremony passed without incident – and as they were declared husband and wife – the new King and Queen of England - Eleanor noticed that Jasper never did let go of her hand – and Jasper noticed that she hadn't let go either.

In that moment it was apparent to them both, that this was not a dream.

It was real.

It felt real.

A dream finally come true.

…

***** THE END *****


End file.
